Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a White House request to allow Israeli President Isaac Herzog to attend the launch of President Donald Trump Gaza Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The White House viewed the Board of Peace launch as a critical step in advancing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and one of Trump’s key diplomatic objectives during the Davos summit. Officials hoped to present the initiative as having broad international backing, including visible participation from Israel alongside Arab and Muslim leaders.
To that end, the White House invited 58 countries to join the Board of Peace and said each nation could send either its head of state, head of government, or an empowered representative. Israel was among the invited countries.
Netanyahu did not attend the Davos meetings himself, citing the ongoing International Criminal Court arrest warrant hanging over him. President Herzog, however, was already present in Davos, prompting White House officials to propose that he serve as Israel’s representative at the ceremony and sign the Board of Peace charter.
According to sources, senior White House officials raised the idea with Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday and Wednesday. Netanyahu refused and effectively vetoed Herzog’s participation, arguing that the invitation was addressed to him personally, not to the Israeli president.
Behind the scenes, several phone calls took place between Netanyahu, his aides, and senior White House officials. Sources described some of those conversations as tense and difficult.
As late as Wednesday evening, the White House still believed a compromise might be reached. Israel was listed among 21 participating countries in a draft attendance list circulated that night. Efforts to resolve the issue continued until just hours before the ceremony on Thursday, but Netanyahu did not change his position.
One source said the episode created friction not only between Netanyahu’s office and the White House, but also between Netanyahu’s office and President Herzog’s office.
In the end, the White House chose not to escalate the dispute. Trump advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff reportedly decided to concentrate their pressure on Netanyahu over reopening the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza rather than Herzog’s appearance at the ceremony.
Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Israel on Saturday evening for meetings with Netanyahu that were expected to focus primarily on the Rafah crossing issue.
The Prime Minister’s Office, President Herzog’s office, and the White House all declined to comment on the matter.
Israel’s absence from the ceremony ultimately left the impression that the country was not fully aligned with Trump’s Gaza peace initiative, despite Washington’s efforts to project unified regional support.
No comments:
Post a Comment